The Passage of Time
by Settiai
Summary: Bethany and Isabela, over the years.


The night before their expedition left for the Deep Roads, Isabela kissed her.

It wasn't as if it had come out of nowhere. Isabela had been flirting with her for months, and Bethany had flirted right back. Her brother hadn't approved, of course, but there were very few things that he _did_ approve of nowadays. Ever since Carver—

—and, no, Bethany didn't want to think about that. Not now. Possibly not ever.

"We'll pick this up when I get back," Bethany whispered against Isabela's lips.

Isabela's eyes flashed with laughter. "Damn straight we will, sweet thing," she agreed. Then she did something that was quite possibly illegal with her tongue, and there wasn't really any need for talking after that.

* * *

Sometimes, just sometimes, Bethany wished that her brother had left her in the Deep Roads.

It wasn't that she wanted to die. She just wished it had been her own choice to join the Wardens, rather than Garrett's. She knew that he had been trying to protect her, like he hadn't been able to do for Carver, but it still upset her.

Her life was nothing but a series of other people making decisions for her. It would have been nice, just for once, to have made one for herself.

Maybe that was why she didn't try to hide her bitterness in the handful of letters that she sent back to Kirkwall.

Garrett hardly ever wrote back. It didn't surprise her, not really, but it still hurt. He'd pushed her into this life, and he wouldn't even write to her. A letter here, a small package there, that was all that she received from him.

That was part of the reason it was so surprising that Isabela, of all people, did write to her. Not regularly, by any means, but a letter every few months was more than she'd expected. Enough that Bethany didn't feel completely alone.

* * *

Alistair and the other Wardens kept their distance from her as they made their way out of Kirkwall. After several years, they knew her well enough not to press when she was angry. And after her meeting with her brother, she was furious even though she knew there was no real reason for it.

"Well, well, well," a familiar voice said from nearby, "what do we have here?"

Bethany's head snapped up.

Isabela smiled at her, although it didn't quite meet her eyes. She was holding a book tight against her chest, and there was no question that it must have belonged to the qunari.

Like broken pieces of pottery fitting together, a dozen questions were suddenly answered.

"Isabela," Bethany said warily. It felt like a lifetime since the last time she'd seen the woman, the taste of rum on her lips as she kissed Bethany goodbye before she left for the Deep Roads.

Isabela sauntered over, reaching out to brush a strand of hair out of Bethany's face. "It's good to see you again."

"Is it?" Bethany asked, raising an eyebrow. She pointedly let her gaze drift to the book Isabela was holding in front of her before glancing back up at her face.

Isabela leaned in and kissed her. It didn't last long, no more than a moment, but it was enough to send Bethany's mind flying backwards almost three years.

"Always," Isabela said with a wink as she pulled away. "Now, I need to go find your brother before he gets himself killed."

The words were out of Bethany's mouth before she could stop them. "Why? You have the book, so why not run?"

There was something hard in Isabela's eyes as she met Bethany's gaze. "Because it's my choice to make."

* * *

"Now, what's a Grey Warden doing wandering around the docks of Cumberland?"

Bethany's eyes widened at the familiar voice, and she spun around. Isabela grinned at her from beneath an enormous hat, her eyes twinkling.

The smile that tugged at the corners of Bethany's mouth was unintentional. She couldn't stop it even if she wanted.

"Trying to book passage on a ship," Bethany said lightly. "Preferably one heading in the direction of Amaranthine."

Isabela raised an eyebrow. "Well then, what a coincidence," she said slowly, drawing out her words. "I just happen to have a ship, and—"

"It just happens to be heading toward Amaranthine?" Bethany cut in, not even attempting to hide her amusement.

"Isn't it odd?" Isabela asked with an incautious wink.

Bethany grinned at her, a real grin and not one of the feigned ones that she usually wore.

* * *

Bethany wasn't a virgin anymore, and she hadn't been one for a long time. Saving herself for the right person had stopped seeming so important when there was tainted blood running through her veins, slowly killing her and guaranteeing that she would never live to be an old woman.

Despite that, as Isabela stripped in front of her, for the first time in years she felt like the blushing girl who had died the moment Garrett talked her into going on that blighted expedition. Not that it stopped her from stripping her own clothes off just as efficiently as Isabela, if perhaps not quite as stylishly.

Isabela raised an eyebrow as Bethany let the last of her garments fall to the floor. "Someone has had some practice, I see."

"I just followed a few of your suggestions," Bethany shot back.

Isabela threw her head back and laughed. "Is that so?"

Bethany didn't bother replying. Instead, with a coy smile, she pushed Isabela backward onto the bed they'd rented for the night.

And then she put her mouth to other uses.

* * *

Bethany had long ago stopped wondering how Isabela always seemed to find her when she needed to make a quick escape from a city. Or a town. Or a random strip of the coast that any sane captain would have refused to come near. It was clear that someone was keeping tabs on her, although the question of whether it was actually Isabela herself or someone else entirely was still up in the air.

She'd never asked. She probably never would. There were some things that she suspected she was happier not knowing.

Whatever the case, one of the first things she'd learned was not to ask too many questions when someone saved your life. Especially when the people who had been trying to kill you were fellow Wardens who had apparently lost their blighted minds at the first sign of the Calling.

 _What else would you expect from Orlesians?_ , a small part of her brain that sounded suspiciously like Garrett chimed in. _At least the Ferelden Wardens had enough sense to realize that "safety in numbers" wasn't really a good plan for this one._

"I thought things like this were more your brother's style," Isabela said, the lightness of her tone undermined somewhat by the hint of worry in her eyes.

Bethany hissed in pain as she forced a few bursts of rudimentary healing magic at the bleeding wound in her shoulder. "What?" she asked through gritted teeth. "I'm not allowed to get shot?"

Isabela's grip on her arm tightened slightly, the only visible sign that she wasn't as calm and collected as she appeared to be.

Then, without saying a word, she leaned in and pressed a kiss to Bethany's forehead.

Despite the pain from her shoulder, and the incessant blight song that she couldn't quite force her mind to block out, Bethany couldn't help but smile. She'd figured out a long time ago that it wasn't a place that made a home. It was the people.

And it was good to be home, if only for a while.


End file.
